It is burdensome for a human to remember multiple usernames and passwords. Nevertheless, in order to access different resources from a computerized device, the human may need to enter different username and password pairs into the computerized device. For example, the human may need to remember and enter a first username and a first password to access an online bank account from the computerized device. Additionally, the human may need to remember and enter a second username and a second password to access a virtual private network (VPN) from the computerized device, and so on.
One conventional approach to managing usernames and passwords is for the human to store this information on the computerized device itself (hereinafter referred to as the locally stored password approach). For example, the human may store the usernames and passwords in a readable text file. As another example, some third-party software products allow the human to store multiple usernames and passwords within a local browser application that runs on the computerized device. In order to gain initial access to the computerized device or to the local browser application, the human must enter one username and one password (i.e., single sign on). Then, to gain access to a particular resource using the local browser application, the human simply selects the resource via a single push of a button on the computerized device, and the local browser automatically submits the correct locally stored username and password for the selected resource in order to gain access to that resource.
Another conventional approach to managing usernames and passwords is for the human to store the username and password information at a third-party website (hereinafter referred to as the online password storage approach). Under this approach, the human simply submits one username and one password into the third-party website via the computerized device (i.e., single sign on). Then, via a single push of a button on the computerize device, the human selects a particular resource and directs the computerized device to automatically retrieve the proper username and password from the third-party website and submit the retrieved username and password to login the human to a selected resource.